At a cost of over $12 billion dollars, the Muskrat Falls Project has been the most expensive greenhouse gas reduction project in Canada’s history and is the primary reason we are running such high deficits at the expense of health care and other priorities.
Retiring the Holyrood plant is the equivalent of taking 300,000 cars off the road and will help to eliminate the release of greenhouse gas and sulphur dioxide emissions.
However, the new federal carbon tax will see Newfoundlanders paying an extra $50 million a year to Ottawa (and rising in the future) rather than keeping that money in Newfoundland.
The fact Premier Dwight Ball reduced Newfoundland fuel taxes to largely offset the Ottawa tax grab reinforces the fact that this tax will not reduce gasoline consumption — confirming the carbon tax is a superficial solution to a complex problem that will only see Ottawa once again take advantage of Newfoundlanders, without any clear benefits to Newfoundlanders that have already paid dearly to reduce greenhouse gases with the construction of the Muskrat Falls Project.
Newfoundlanders should get credit for this true reduction in greenhouse gases rather than being burdened with a new federal tax.
Stephen Clark
Rocky Harbour
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